James David Spellman

Opinion | Trump’s rise signals the end of US global leadership

Expect greater isolationism in favour of bilateral, outcome-based deals with no more free rides for allies as Trump seeks capitulation, not cooperation

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Donald Trump takes to the stage for his last rally before the presidential election, in Van Andel Arena on November 5, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Photo: Getty Images/TNS

James David Spellman

Published: 10:30pm, 13 Nov 2024

Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election ushers in an America that will swashbuckle through the world like brawny sailors on shore leave.

We can expect his administration to be an emotional whirlwind of guttural, visceral attacks hurled spontaneously, rather than four years of measured, calculated approaches anchored in deeply grounded ideas about the workings of statecraft and a rules-based international order. “America first”, he swears, is his lodestar.

His last term as president and campaign speeches this year suggest he will be unpredictable, erratic, imperial, discursive and less than coherent, with trademark chauvinism and caustic diatribes. Frequent purges of staff will leave his administration unnerved.

We can expect greater isolationism in favour of bilateral, outcome-based deals that promise more than they deliver. No more free rides for allies. Personal vendettas will be fused with nationalism. Facts will become malleable artifices. His wrath will know few bounds, and his arsenal will use sticks, not carrots. He will seek capitulation not cooperation. His rise signals the end of America’s global leadership after World War II.

The election’s decisive results will embolden him with support from the Republican-controlled Senate and seemingly the House of Representatives. The more extreme voices in his camp will dominate. His dark world view is a Dante-esque inferno – ruthless titans battle amid legions of enemies.

To survive, America must be all guile and guts, and relentless in its offence. Friends can quickly become foes.